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Hamilton dropped to fifth in order

Hamilton dropped to fifth in order

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have been bringing out some of their non-power hitters for early bunting practice on occasion. They did so on Tuesday and Josh Hamilton was out there with them.

"I was out there, so I figured I might as well join them," Hamilton said. "Don't read anything into it."

The Rangers still consider Hamilton one of their power hitters, but manager Ron Washington did drop him in the order on Tuesday. For the second day in a row, Ian Kinsler was batting third. Hamilton, who was off on Monday, was batting fifth against the Angels on Tuesday.

"I don't know if it's permanent or not," Washington said. "I liked [Kinsler] there yesterday, so I decided to keep him there."

Hamilton had started 35 games in the No. 3 spot and once in the cleanup spot. But he did see 13 games in the No. 5 hole in 2009.

"It's not like they're going to pitch me any different," Hamilton said. "All it means is I don't hit in the first inning."

Hamilton went into Tuesday's game hitless in his last 12 at-bats and was 1-for-13 with nine strikeouts in a three-game series with the Blue Jays over the weekend.

"Some broken-bat [hits] would be nice," Hamilton said. "I'm fine if I'm just seeing pitches and squaring balls up. If I do that, good things will happen whether it's right away or eventually. That's what I'm trying to accomplish."